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Letter to the Editor Info for
West Virginia Newspapers: More WV newspapers
A few Kentucky papers:
Find info on newspapers |
One of Many Things You Can Do To Help End Mountaintop Removal
Write Letters to the Editor
If you want to help end mountaintop removal, show it
You can send your letters to your local paper, or to any paper, anywhere. Mountaintop removal is a national issue--even international. Mountaintop removal is one of many examples of the extreme toll of our over-reliance on fossil fuel...it's the front end of global climate change.
See the sidebar for links to individual newspapers guidelines on submitting letters-to-the-editor. Please try to make your words original and thoughtful --newspapers don't like and usually won't print form letters and the like. You want your letter to be effective, maybe run the letter by someone else or let it sit a bit, then reread and rewrite if needed, before hitting click and send.
Don't know what to write? Your own experience is most relevant. How does mountaintop removal affect you? Why do you think it is wrong? Here are some talking points to help with your letter to the editor. Pick a point and expand upon it. Explore our website for more ideas. For instance, read what directly impacted folks have to save about mountaintop removal in many spots on our website, including past newsletters, these comments to the EPA and this booklet. Check out our photo galleries, too.
OVEC volunteer Mary Wildfire compiled these tips on writing your
letter:
--Most newspapers have a word limit on letters, often 200 or 300 words.
Papers do edit your letter.
--Many newspapers also have limits to how often they will print letters from a particular person. You may want to send your letter to a different paper if your first choice just printed something from you.
--If the letter is in response to something that ran in the paper, mention the date and title at the start.
--Dont engage in name-calling, profanity, personal attacks, or falsehoods. Leave that to the other side.
--You need to include your daytime phone number and usually your address as well. Most papers will not print any of this, but they will call to make sure you really sent the letter.
--Check spelling, punctuation, grammar; if youre not good at this, ask someone to read over your letter before you submit it.
--Some papers insist that you send your letter exclusively to themcheck the newspaper's letter-to-the-editor guidelines before sending in your letter. See the links at left.
--As with any writing, specifics and images are more effective than vague abstractions.
--Remember that a letter published in your local or regional paper will influence your representatives as well; they know their constituents are reading this.
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